


for every action there is a reaction

by veroniquemagique



Series: mistakes to be learned from [2]
Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:34:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veroniquemagique/pseuds/veroniquemagique
Summary: Until her conversation with Miss Hardbroom, Mildred never realized how awful the love potion would have made her teachers feel. Now that she has, she has an apology to make.





	for every action there is a reaction

As she scrawls her red ink across yet another student’s error-filled classwork, the light knock raps against the door to the potions classroom. She ignores it for the moment, hoping that the person who intends to disturb her would use their better judgement and leave her to herself. When the knocking persists, Hecate sighs and lays down the paper and pen. She waves her hand to move the latch and allow entry, only for a pair of brown braids to hesitantly poke around the heavy wooden door. 

“Can I help you, Mildred Hubble?” Hecate drawls, watching the girl hover outside the door from the corner of her eye. 

“Um…” Mildred glances at the floor, tugging lightly on her braids, “I was hoping I could talk to you, if you’re not too busy.”

Hecate takes a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever stress the girl is undoubtedly about to unleash upon her. “Then enter the room and speak, do not waste the entire evening upon the threshold.”

“Oh, okay, sorry,” Mildred shuffles in slowly, eyes shifting around the room, clearly unsure of what to do with herself. Her fingers are still fiddling with the ends of her braids.

“What is it that you wish to speak to me about?” Hecate raises an eyebrow at the girl, conjuring a chair across the desk from herself, allowing the girl to sit for what she expects may be a lengthy conversation. Mildred cautiously sits on the edge of the chair, eyes slowly flicking up to meet Hecate’s.

“I wanted to say sorry,” Mildred says softly, and before Hecate could possibly ask what for, she quickly adds, “I know this is probably going to get me another detention, but I felt really, really bad about what I did and I really needed to let you know that.”

“What did you do  _ now, _ Mildred?” Hecate asks, not recalling having been the target of one of Mildred and her friends’ schemes recently.

“It was Enid, Maud and me that put you guys under the love potion that made you act all weird about Mr. Rowan-Webb.”

Hecate had suspected as much, but it was good to hear the girl confirm her suspicions, and she was glad that the girl was owning up to her actions, as… errant as they may have been. 

“You were correct in assuming you would receive punishment for such actions. It is wildly inappropriate to interfere in these matters.”

“I know that now, and I know it's not an excuse, but we never realized it would affect you all,” Mildred was now playing with the frayed end of her sash as she spoke, and had averted her gaze from Hecate once more. 

“No, it is not, but I sense there is more you wish to divulge.” 

Mildred took a deep breath and continued. “I spent a long time feeling like I had to pretend I had crushes on boys, and it felt really wrong and gross deep down inside, so I can’t imagine how awful it felt that you had to pretend-” she shakes her head, and Hecate can see her eyes getting wet as she corrects herself, “be forced to like a boy even though you really, really don’t. So I wanted to apologize for making you feel that way, Miss Hardbroom. I’m really sorry.”

The words leave her speechless for a moment, and Hecate can faintly feel her cheeks burning. After their conversation the other week, what Mildred had revealed to her and what she had confided in Mildred has been occupying a spot in the back of her mind, causing her eyes to drift to the girl during lessons, and more importantly over Ethel Hallow and her distasteful tongue. She knew the pain that Mildred shared with her more intimately than she would ever divulge to the girl, and it  _ had _ been a waking nightmare to compulsively relive once more, even for those few yet never-ending hours. Somehow, even in the freshness of that discomfort, Hecate couldn’t feel too angry with Mildred, not as the girl sat in front of her seeming to show actual remorse with her wide and tear-brimmed eyes.

“Your actions have consequences, Mildred. While I… appreciate... this sentiment, you must realize that to say the words ‘I’m sorry’ is not always enough. You must be better, show the people your actions have affected that you have changed and will do better and be a more responsible witch in the future. Also, you must never make assumptions about the personal lives of any of your teachers. You never know how your actions may hurt someone else. Do you understand, Mildred?”

Mildred sniffs and looks up at Hecate, nodding quickly. Hecate takes a deep breath to restrain the upward twitch of her lip, not wishing to let the girl think she has gone soft.

“I think I do, Miss Hardbroom,” Mildred swallows and holds her gaze with Hecate as she continues. “Would it be okay if I cleaned the cauldrons for class tomorrow?”

_ Mildred Hubble, requesting punishment? What a day.  _ “If you insist,” she motions towards the desks behind Mildred. Mildred gives her a shaky little smile as she pushes herself up off of the chair and towards the sponge and cloth that Hecate has conjured for her upon the desk beside her own cauldron. She pauses a moment, watching the girl carefully to see if she would actually put in the work, and was not disappointed as Mildred took to carefully scrubbing the first cauldron with vigor. She almost lets herself smile with satisfaction as she picks up the papers on the top of the stack to her right, the next in her pile to mark.

Later when Hecate joins Ada for their evening tea, she has long since put the conversation out of her mind, and is surprised when Ada asks her if she had spoken with the girl at all that day. 

“Well, a certain young witch dropped by earlier with a rather peculiar request for the address of one Marigold Mould, insisting that she had to apologize to her for something she did. I know the girl held such great respect for Marigold, even after the events of Halloween past, so that was not entirely surprising to me.” Ada pauses, smiling to herself. “However, Dimity also expressed to me over dinner that she received some gracious aid in cleaning her sports storage room this afternoon from three eager young witches by the names of Enid Nightshade, Maud Spellbody and of course, Mildred Hubble.”

“Oh?” Hecate raises an eyebrow at the revelation, as she watched Ada sip her too-sweet tea.

“Yes, quite fascinating. I am so pleased to see the girls taking responsibility for their actions, aren’t you, Hecate?”

Hecate sips her own tea, earnestly trying to hide the upturn of her lips as she mumbles, “quite.”

Maybe there  _ was  _ hope for Mildred yet, not that Hecate would ever admit it.


End file.
